Personal care module

ABSTRACT

A personal care module for use by a patient within a room of a healthcare facility comprises a first washing station, at least one of a toilet and a second washing station, and a housing coupled to the first washing station and the at least one of the toilet and the second washing station.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to U.S.Provisional Application No. 60/293,949, filed May 25, 2001, which isexpressly incorporated by reference herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present disclosure relates to a personal care module. Thepersonal care module is disclosed in the context of being useful for apatient within a room of a healthcare facility. The personal care moduleis believed to be useful in other applications as well.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY

[0003] Patients in healthcare facilities, such as hospitals and nursinghomes, sometimes have limited mobility. Ambulating to obtain basicpersonal care services, such as, for example, access to a sink andfaucet, a toilet, and a bed pan washer, may be difficult for theseindividuals without the assistance of a caregiver who may not beavailable immediately. Such personal services are sometimes located in arestroom attached to the patient's room. This may require the patient tomaneuver around one or more beds, furniture, and hospital equipment toreach the restroom. Some patients having limited mobility may prefereasier access to personal care services.

[0004] According to this disclosure, a personal care module for use by apatient within a room of a healthcare facility comprises a toilet, awashing station, and a housing coupled to the toilet and the washingstation. The washing station has either a sink and a faucet or a bed panwasher. Illustratively, the housing is movable between a first positionextending alongside a wall of the room and a second position extendingalongside a bed in the room.

[0005] Further illustratively, the housing has a first portion and asecond portion. The washing station is coupled to the first portion. Thetoilet is coupled to the second portion. The first portion and thesecond portion are relatively movable between a third position to coverthe toilet and a fourth position to uncover the toilet.

[0006] According to another aspect of this disclosure, a personal caremodule for use by a patient within a room of a healthcare facilitycomprises a toilet, a washing station having a sink and a faucet, a bedpan washer, and a housing coupled to the toilet, the washing station,and the bed pan washer.

[0007] According to another aspect of this disclosure, a personal caremodule for use by a patient within a room of a healthcare facilitycomprises a first washing station, a second washing station, and ahousing coupled to the first washing station and the second washingstation. Illustratively, the first washing station has a sink and afaucet, and the second washing station has a bed pan washer.

[0008] Additional features will become apparent to those skilled in theart upon consideration of the following detailed description ofillustrative embodiments exemplifying the best mode as presentlyperceived.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] The detailed description particularly refers to the accompanyingfigures in which:

[0010]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a personal care module positionedin a first position extending alongside a wall of a patient's room, thepersonal care module comprising a first washing station having a sinkand a faucet and a second washing station having a bed pan washer;

[0011]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the personal care module which ismovable along the floor of the room about a pivot axis between the firstposition (shown in dashed lines) and a second position (shown in solidlines) extending alongside a bed in the room for ready access by thepatient;

[0012]FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the personal care module having atoilet uncovered by an upper portion of a housing of the personal caremodule upon movement of the upper portion in the direction of the dashedarrow; and

[0013]FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic view of the personal care module showinga pivot coupling between the housing and the floor, a control panelcoupled to the bed pan washer and the toilet, and supply and drain linescoupled to the first washing station, the bed pan washer, and the toiletand routed through the interior of the housing to the floor of the room.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] A personal care module 10 configured for use by a patient 12 in ahealthcare facility such as, for example, a hospital or a nursing homeis illustrated in FIGS. 1-4. Module 10 is configured to be convenientlylocated in a room 14 of the healthcare facility for ready access bypatient 12 who may have limited mobility. Module 10 is movable along aroom floor 15 about a vertical pivot axis 17 in opposite directionsindicated by double-head dashed arrow 27 in FIG. 2 between a firstposition (FIG. 1, FIG. 2 in phantom) extending alongside a room wall 19and a second position (FIG. 2 in solid, FIG. 3) extending alongside abed 21 in room 14.

[0015] Personal care module 10 provides a variety of services forpatient 12. Module 10 has a first washing station 16 (FIGS. 1-4), asecond washing station 18 (FIGS. 1 and 4), and a toilet 20 (FIGS. 3 and4). Station 16 has a faucet 24 for dispensing water and a sink 22 fordraining the water. Station 18 has an automatic bed pan washer 23 forwashing a bed pan 25. It is within the scope of this disclosure formodule 10 to provide one or more other services in addition to or inplace of stations 16, 18 and toilet 20. Such other services include awater purification system, dialysis connections, and urine samplingequipment.

[0016] Faucet 24 has a spout 26, a hot water control 28, and a coldwater control 30. Other types of faucets are within the scope of thisdisclosure. For example, in alternative embodiments, the faucet has asingle temperature control for hot and cold water. In other alternativeembodiments, the spout has a removable nozzle coupled to a flexible tubeto dispense water from a variety of positions. A hot water supply line32 provides hot water to hot water control 28 while a cold water supplyline 34 provides cold water to cold water control 30 as showndiagrammatically in FIG. 4. A drain line 36 is coupled to an aperture ofa bottom portion of sink 22 to drain water therefrom.

[0017] Washer 23 of station 18 has a receptacle 40 for receiving bed pan25 in an interior region 42 thereof, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 4.Washer 23 also has one or more dispensers 44, shown diagrammatically inFIG. 4, for dispensing a cleaning agent such as water and/or adisinfectant into interior region 42 to wash a bed pan 25 positionedtherein. Receptacle 40 is movable about a pivot axis 46 between anopened position (FIG. 1) and a closed position (FIG. 2). Bed pan 25 canbe inserted in direction of arrow 47 through an opening of receptacle 40into interior region 42 when receptacle 40 is positioned in its openedposition. Bed pan washer 23 washes bed pan 25 after receptacle 40 ispivoted to its closed position. A supply line 48 is coupled todispensers 44 to provide the cleaning agent thereto. A drain line 50 iscoupled to a bottom aperture of receptacle 40 to drain receptacle 40.

[0018] Dispensers 44 extend downwardly from an upper wall 51 of bed panwasher 23 into interior region 42 of receptacle 40, as showndiagrammatically in FIG. 4. It is within the scope of this disclosurefor a rear wall 52 of receptacle 40, shown in FIG. 1, to have an openingsized to permit passage of dispensers 44 therethrough to accommodatemovement of receptacle 40 between its opened and closed positions. Insome embodiments, dispensers 44 are movable from an extended positionwherein dispensers 44 extend downwardly from upper wall 51 into interiorregion 42 to wash bed pan 25 and a retracted position wherein dispensers44 are retracted into corresponding openings in upper wall 53 toaccommodate movement of receptacle 40 between its opened and closedpositions. In other embodiments, dispensers 44 remain in such aretracted position even during operation of bed pan washer 23. It iswithin the scope of this disclosure for dispensers 44 to be fixed ormovable, such as being rotatable, relative to receptacle 40 duringoperation of bed pan washer 23.

[0019] Toilet 20 has a seat 56 for patient 12 and a receptacle 58, asillustrated in FIG. 3. A water supply line 60 is coupled to toilet 20 toprovide water thereto. A drain line 62 is coupled to toilet 20 to drainwaste therefrom.

[0020] Personal care module 10 has a housing 66, as illustrated in FIGS.1-4. Housing 66 has a proximal end portion 78 and a distal end portion80. A longitudinal axis 81 of module 10 extends horizontally throughproximal end portion 78 and distal end portion 80. Housing 66 also has alower housing portion 82, a first upper housing portion 84, and a secondupper housing portion 86. Lower housing portion 82 supports upperhousing portions 84, 86 for movement therewith as module 10 is pivotedbetween its first, wall position and its second, bed position. Firstupper housing portion 84 is movable relative to lower housing portion 82and second upper housing portion 86 between a toilet-covering, extendedposition (FIGS. 1, 2, and 4) to cover toilet 20 and a toilet-uncovering,retracted position (FIG. 3) to uncover toilet 20, as discussed in moredetail below.

[0021] Proximal end portion 78 of lower housing portion 82 has an outersleeve 68, as illustrated in FIG. 4. An inner sleeve 70 is coupled tofloor 15 via fasteners 72 and is positioned inside of first sleeve 68. Abearing 74 engages sleeves 68 and 70 so that module 10 can move aboutvertical pivot axis 17 between the first, wall position and second, bedposition. Thus, sleeves 68 and 70 and bearing 74 cooperate to define apivot coupling 75 between module 10 and floor 15. Floor-engagingelements 76, such as wheels or casters, are coupled to lower housingportion 82 to facilitate movement of module 10 along floor 15, asillustrated in FIGS. 1-4. In alternative embodiments, lower housingportion 82 has a skirt that hangs downwardly to shield casters 76 fromview.

[0022] Lines 32, 34, 36, 48, 50, 60, and 62 are routed through aninterior region 88 of housing 66 and through inner sleeve 70. Lines 32,34, 36, 48, 50, 60, and 62 are then coupled to corresponding plumbinglines represented by box 90 and routed through floor 15. Alternatively,lines 32, 34, 36, 48, 50, 60, and 62 are coupled to a headwall mountedto wall 19. At least some portions of lines 32, 34, 36, 48, 50, 60, and62 are flexible to accommodate the pivoting movement of module 10between its first, wall position and second, bed position and toaccommodate the movement of first upper housing portion 84 between itsextended and retracted positions. In some embodiments, drain line 36includes a rigid portion providing an S-shaped trap that traps solidobjects dropped inadvertently into sink 22.

[0023] Lower housing portion 82 contains second washing station 18(FIG. 1) and toilet 20 (FIG. 3). Second washing station 18 is positionedadjacent to proximal end portion 78. Toilet 20 is positioned adjacent todistal end portion 80. Toilet seat 56 is coupled to an upper wall 91 ofportion 82. Portion 82 also has side walls 99 and end walls 100 coupledto side walls 99. Side walls 99 and end walls 100 are coupled to upperwall 91. Receptacle 40 of bed pan washer 23 pivots outwardly relative toone of side walls 99 to its opened position (FIG. 1) and pivots inwardlyrelative thereto to its closed position.

[0024] First upper housing portion 84 carries first washing station 16,as illustrated in FIGS. 1-3. Sink 22, spout 26, and hot and cold watercontrols 28, 30 are mounted to an upper wall 92 of first upper housingportion 84. Portion 84 further has a pair of opposing side walls 94 andan end wall 96 coupled to side walls 94. Side walls 94 and end wall 96are coupled to upper wall 92. Upper wall 92 and side walls 94 cooperateto define an edge 98 that defines an opening into an interior region ofportion 84. The majority of sink 22 is positioned in the interior regionof portion 84 between side walls 94.

[0025] Second upper housing portion 86 has side walls 110, an end wall112 coupled to side walls 110, and a pair of doors 114, as illustratedin FIGS. 1-3. Control panel 118 is mounted to one of side walls 110.Each door 114 is coupled to a top portion of one of side walls 110 formovement, such as by pivoting, between a raised position (FIGS. 1 and 2)wherein doors 114 are positioned to lie in generally horizontal,co-planar relation with one another and a lowered position wherein eachdoor 114 extends downwardly alongside the respective side wall 110.

[0026] First upper housing portion 84 is movable on lower housingportion 82 along longitudinal axis 81 between its toilet-covering,extended position (FIGS. 1, 2, and 4) and its toilet-uncovering,retracted position (FIG. 3). Housing portions 84 and 86 are arranged intelescoping relation with one another. Housing portion 84 is slightlylarger than housing portion 86 so that a majority of housing portion 86is positioned to lie in the interior region of housing portion 84 whenhousing portion 84 is positioned in its retracted position. Thus,housing portion 84 covers housing portion 86 when housing portion 84 ispositioned in its retracted position.

[0027] During movement of housing portion 84 from its extended positionto its retracted position in a direction indicated by arrow 115 (FIG.3), doors 114 move automatically from their raised position to theirlowered position to allow sink 22 to move into a space between doors114. When housing portion 84 returns to its extended position, doors 114move automatically from their lowered position to their raised position.It is within the scope of this disclosure for suitable devices, such ascables, linkages, or cam mechanisms, to be used to couple the movementof housing portion 84 to doors 114.

[0028] In some embodiments, side walls 94 of first upper housing portion84 are configured to mate with corresponding tracks (not shown) mountedon upper wall 91 or upper portions of side walls 99 to allow movement offirst upper housing portion 84 between its extended and retractedpositions. In other embodiments, rollers (not shown) are coupled to abottom portion of each side wall 94 to ride on the tracks.

[0029] First washing station 16 and toilet 20 are aligned verticallywith one another such that first washing station 16 is positioned abovetoilet 20 when first upper housing portion 84 is positioned in itsextended position. First washing station 16 and toilet 20 are offsetvertically from one another when first upper housing portion 84 ispositioned in its retracted position. First washing station 16 andsecond washing station 18 are aligned vertically with one another suchthat first washing station 16 is positioned above second washing station18 when first upper housing portion 84 is positioned in its retractedposition.

[0030] A control panel 118 for controlling module 10 is coupled to oneof side walls 110 of second upper housing portion 86, as illustrated inFIG. 1. Control panel 118 has user inputs 120 that are engaged tocontrol various functions of module 10. Control panel 118 is coupled tobed pan washer 23 via an electrical conductor 54 to control its washingcycles. It is within the scope of this disclosure for module 10 to havesensors (not shown) coupled to control panel 118 to sense the presenceof bed pan 25 in receptacle 40 and to sense the position of receptacle40 so that bed pan 25 is washed automatically upon movement ofreceptacle 40 to its closed position. Control panel 118 further controlsflushing of toilet 20 via electrical conductor 64 in response to, forexample, one of user inputs 120 or a proximity sensor (not shown)mounted to sense when toilet 20 is no longer being used. Alternatively,toilet 20 is flushed manually via a mechanical lever. It is also withinthe scope of this disclosure for one or more of user inputs 120 tocontrol powered movement of module 10 between its first, wall positionand its second, bed position and one or more of user inputs 120 tocontrol movement of first upper housing portion 84 between its extendedand retracted positions.

[0031] Personal care module 10 is operable in both its first, wallposition and its second, bed position or in positions therebetween. Whenmodule 10 is in its first, wall position, patient 12 can use first andsecond washing stations 16, 18 (FIG. 1) and can use toilet 20 uponretraction of first upper housing portion 84. When module 10 is in itssecond, bed position, patient 12 sitting on bed 21 is able to use firstwashing station 16 for hand washing or to obtain water for drinkingwithout having to exit bed 21, as illustrated in FIG. 2. In addition,when module 10 is in its second, bed position, patient 12 sitting on bed21 is able to move first upper housing portion 84 toward wall 19 of roomin a direction indicated by a dashed arrow 115 from its extendedposition to its retracted position to expose toilet 20. Patient 12 isthen able to move a short distance from a seated position on bed 21 to aseated position on toilet seat 56. During movement from bed 21 to toiletseat 56, a patient having limited mobility may steady himself or herselfby holding to portions of module 10 as illustrated in FIG. 3.

[0032] Although certain illustrative embodiments have been disclosed indetail, variations and modifications exist within the scope and spiritof the invention as described and defined in the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A personal care module for use by a patientwithin a room of a healthcare facility, the personal care modulecomprising a toilet, a washing station having a sink and a faucet, a bedpan washer, and a housing coupled to the toilet, the washing station,and the bed pan washer.
 2. The personal care module of claim 1, whereinthe housing is adapted to be coupled to a floor of the room for movementof the housing about a pivot axis.
 3. The personal care module of claim2, wherein the housing has a proximal end portion and a distal endportion, the proximal end portion is adapted to be coupled to the floorto establish the pivot axis, the bed pan washer is positioned adjacentto the proximal end portion, and the toilet is positioned adjacent tothe distal end portion.
 4. The personal care module of claim 3, whereinthe housing includes a first portion and a second portion, the washingstation is coupled to the first portion, the toilet and the bed panwasher are coupled to the second portion, and the washing station andthe first portion are movable along a second axis between a firstposition wherein the first portion covers the toilet and a secondposition wherein the first portion uncovers the toilet.
 5. The personalcare module of claim 4, wherein the pivot axis and the second axis aretransverse to one another.
 6. The personal care module of claim 1,wherein the washing station is movable relative to the toilet and thebed pan washer along a longitudinal axis of the housing.
 7. The personalcare module of claim 6, wherein the housing has a first portion and asecond portion, the washing station is coupled to the first portion, thetoilet and the bed pan washer are coupled to the second portion, and thewashing station and the first portion are movable along the longitudinalaxis between a first position wherein the first portion covers thetoilet and a second position wherein the first portion uncovers thetoilet.
 8. The personal care module of claim 1, further comprising afloor-engaging element adapted to engage a floor of the room tofacilitate movement of the housing along the floor.
 9. A personal caremodule for use by a patient within a room of a healthcare facility, thepersonal care module comprising a first washing station, a secondwashing station, and a housing coupled to the first washing station andthe second washing station.
 10. The personal care module of claim 9,wherein the first washing station has a faucet and a sink.
 11. Thepersonal care module of claim 10, wherein the second washing station hasa bed pan washer.
 12. The personal care module of claim 9, wherein thesecond washing station has a bed pan washer.
 13. The personal caremodule of claim 12, wherein the bed pan washer has a receptacle adaptedto receive a bed pan and coupled to the housing for movement between anopened position and a closed position.
 14. The personal care module ofclaim 9, wherein the housing is adapted to be coupled to a floor of theroom for movement of the housing about a pivot axis.
 15. The personalcare module of claim 14, wherein the first washing station is movablerelative to the second washing station along an axis that is transverseto the pivot axis.
 16. The personal care module of claim 9, wherein thefirst washing station and the second washing station are relativelymovable.
 17. The personal care module of claim 16, wherein the housingincludes a lower portion and an upper portion movable on the lowerportion, the first washing station is coupled to the upper portion, andthe second washing station is coupled to the lower portion.
 18. Apersonal care module for use by a patient within a room of a healthcarefacility, the personal care module comprising a housing having a firstportion and a second portion, a washing station coupled to the firstportion, a toilet coupled to the second portion, the first portion andthe second portion being relatively movable between a first position tocover the toilet and a second position to uncover the toilet.
 19. Thepersonal care module of claim 18, wherein the washing station has a sinkand a faucet.
 20. The personal care module of claim 18, wherein thefirst portion is positioned for movement along a horizontal,longitudinal axis of the personal care module between the first positionand the second position.
 21. The personal care module of claim 20,wherein the washing station and the toilet are aligned vertically withone another when the first portion is positioned in the first position.22. The personal care module of claim 21, wherein the washing stationand the toilet are offset vertically from one another when the firstportion is positioned in the second position.
 23. The personal caremodule of claim 18, wherein the housing includes a third portionpositioned in telescoping relation with the first portion.
 24. Thepersonal care module of claim 23, wherein the first portion covers thethird portion when the first portion is positioned in the secondposition.
 25. A personal care module for use in conjunction with ahospital bed located in a hospital room having a room wall, the personalcare module comprising a housing, a toilet carried by the housing, and awashing station carried by the housing, the housing being movablebetween a first position extending alongside the room wall and a secondposition extending alongside the hospital bed.
 26. The personal caremodule of claim 25, wherein the washing station has a sink and a faucet.27. The personal care module of claim 25, wherein the washing stationhas a bed pan washer.
 28. The personal care module of claim 25, whereinthe housing is adapted to be coupled to a floor of the room for movementof the housing about a pivot axis between the first position and thesecond position.
 29. The personal care module of claim 25, furthercomprising a floor-engaging element coupled to the housing for movementof the housing along a floor of the room between the first position andthe second position.
 30. The personal care module of claim 25, whereinthe housing has a proximal end portion and a distal end portion, theproximal end portion is adapted to be coupled to the floor to establishthe pivot axis, the toilet is positioned adjacent to the distal endportion.
 31. The personal care module of claim 30, wherein the washingstation is positioned adjacent to the proximal end portion.
 32. Thepersonal care module of claim 30, wherein the housing has a portion thatcarries the washing station between a position adjacent to the distalend to cover the toilet and a position adjacent to the proximal end touncover the toilet.
 33. A personal care module for use by a patientwithin a room of a healthcare facility wherein the room has a floor, thepersonal care module comprising a toilet, a washing station having asink and a faucet, a bed pan washer, a housing having a first portionand a second portion, the washing station being coupled to the firstportion, the toilet and the bed pan washer being coupled to the secondportion, the personal care module being movable along the floor betweena first position and a second position, the first portion and the secondportion being relatively movable between a third position to cover thetoilet and a fourth position to uncover the toilet.
 34. The personalcare module of claim 33, wherein the second portion is adapted to becoupled to the floor for movement of the personal care module about apivot axis between the first position and the second position.
 35. Thepersonal care module of claim 34, wherein the first portion is movablealong a longitudinal axis of the personal care module between the thirdposition and the fourth position.
 36. The personal care module of claim35, wherein the pivot axis and the longitudinal axis are transverse toone another.
 37. The personal care module of claim 33, wherein thewashing station is positioned above the toilet when the first portion ispositioned in the third position.
 38. The personal care module of claim37, wherein the washing station is positioned above the bed pan washerwhen the first portion is positioned in the fourth position.
 39. Thepersonal care module of claim 33, wherein the housing has a thirdportion that is positioned in telescoping relation with the firstportion.
 40. The personal care module of claim 39, wherein the firstportion covers the third portion when the first portion is positioned inthe fourth position.
 41. The personal care module of claim 33, whereinthe bed pan washer has a receptacle adapted to receive a bed pan andcoupled to the second portion for movement between an opened positionand a closed position.